About

The Flower of Knighthood is a historical MMORPG in which players can immerse themselves in the atmosphere of Europe's mid-fourteenth to early fifteenth centuries. The game is based on a concept of maximum realism and historical accuracy in the gameplay.

Unique combat system - as the main point of our game is realism, we have completely rejected hit points. We use an armor penetration system, involving just your weapon and the enemy’s armor. Strikes from 11 different directions and 5 block types make each battle exciting.

Authentic craft system - thanks to Dr Stephen Mileson from Oxford University we are creating a maximally authentic craft system. It means that during craft activities you will accurately repeat the actions of 15th-century blacksmiths, carpenters, leatherworkers, tailors and other craftsmen.

Increased opportunities for trading - resources are distributed unevenly throughout the map and given the size of the game location (50x25 km) and the lack of instant travel, trade turns into a complex but profitable business.

Interactive interface - nothing should prevent you from feeling that you are experiencing life in the Middle Ages, so we decided not to use the traditional widows interface.

Skills, experience, and levelling - all skills will level up by actions, and every day all your skills will decrease by one. A full rest will restore 4 or 8 skill points that you can distribute. You can place not more than 2 points in any one skill.

Massive PVP and PVE battles - talk of ‘massive’ does not mean 100 vs 100. We want to make it possible to gather opposing armies of 1,000 people.

Realistic graphics - we use Motion Capture technology and we engaged a multiple champion in historical fencing. We use 3D scans of real grass, stones, land, mud and so on, and use them as textures in our game. Even a human model is a 3D scan of a real man.

A complex combat system of chopping strikes from 11 different directions, stabbing blows, shield strikes, as well as 5 directions of blocks makes each battle unique. The absence of any random variables will allow each player to demonstrate their martial arts in large-scale sieges of castles and cities, as well as in individual tournaments.

Special attention should be paid to the damage mechanic. As the main point of the game is realism, developers have completely rejected hit points and use a system of armor penetration weapons calculated in accordance with the laws of physics.

If the armor is penetrated, then one blow to the body or head is enough to kill the enemy. Successful hits to the limbs will cause serious injuries that will significantly weaken your opponent. If the wounds are not treated, the enemy will soon die from the wounds.

Making an item in the Flower of Knighthood is not limited to a simple click in your inventory. It will take quite a long time to craft a simple blade of an ordinary axe. The player will have to get the metal, melt it, and then forge the blade.

Each stage will require the player’s participation. Preheated work pieces should be handled in and out of the furnace, put on the anvil and hardened, giving the desired shape. The most time-consuming but routine operations can be assigned to the NPC, but the most important stages will need to be completed by yourself.

All processes of creation are designed in accordance with those of the Middle Ages. This was made possible by Dr Stephen Mileson from the University of Oxford.

Those who love to trade will have a lot of work, because resources are distributed unevenly throughout the map. Given the size of the game location (50x25 km) and the lack of instant travel, trade turns into a complex but profitable business. This is not without danger, however. The path of the merchant may attract robbers.

Trade within this game is unique and vastly different than others. The game has no auction or NPC from which you can buy items. Traders will have to rent a shop on the market square. For every item sold, merchants will have to pay tax to the treasury of the owner of the city or castle.

Nothing should prevent you from feeling yourself in the Middle Ages, so we decided not to use the traditional windows interface. Lack of hit points makes it’s indication unnecessary. Visual indication of stamina is replaced by audio.

Your character’s inventory is not a window with slots, it is your bag in which you can put things that will fit inside. You take your bag off, open it, take an item lying on the ground in your hand and put it inside. Interaction with chests, horse bags and other inventories is the same.

For some interaction we use different items. For example, to use the castle interface you should open a special book in the main castle room and there you can change taxes, the number of guards, and so on.

We know that interface usability is more important than originality. We will do a lot of tests and iterations. But we are confident that we can find the way to make our interactive interface easy-to-use and intuitive.

All skills will level up by actions. If you want to improve your tanning skills, you need to practice. The same is with all other craft working and battle skills. In addition to this, if you want to increase your skill, you need to produce or perform actions and goods with increasing difficulty. You can’t make a hundred bad swords and become a legendary blacksmith!

Another important thing is that your skills will decrease each day if you do not practice. If you do not fight for a long time, you will lose your combat skills, and it works the same for a blacksmith or builder.

At the end of the day, all your skills will be decreased by one. To keep skills on the same level or increase them, you need to practice. But you can also ‘freeze’ some skills on the current level. Each night or day (it depends on your play time), your character and yourself need to rest.

The full rest is 8 hours and taking it will restore 4 or 8 skill points that you can distribute. You can place not more than 2 points in any one skill to prevent the situation where you go to bed as an experienced builder and wake up as a tough warrior. You should keep in mind that there are many more skills than 8, so you will be able to maximise only skills that are important for your playstyle.

When you come back to the game after days or months of absence, you will get the double amount of skill points to distribute. You can’t save more points. In addition to this, a player can always freeze an account to go on vacations. In that case, the character will not lose any points nor get any additional points. These vacations would be closed with the first login into the world of The Flower of Knighthood.

Talk of ‘massive’ does not mean 100 vs 100. We want to make it possible to gather armies of 1,000 people on each side of the battle. This allows you to implement diverse tactics and combat strategies. You can use archers to weaken your opponent’s army and then send heavy swordsmen with high shields in to attack, and in the most tense moments you can strike with your cavalry into the opponent's flank. You can experience the feeling of being involved in a full-scale medieval battle. Defend your castle or fight in an open field, use the terrain features for your benefit and make an unexpected ambush.

In times of peace when there are no risks to your castle you can gather friends and sail to foreign lands where you will find hundreds of enemy NPCs and, of course, rich spoils. Rare weapon and armor, gold and resources - all of this awaits you in these military campaigns.

In addition to this, we are planning to organize weekly and monthly events. Massive battles on a stand-alone map, where you can die but will not lose all your stuff; bandit invasions that will be coordinated by selected players and of course tournaments, where each player can demonstrate his mastery.

Immersing in the atmosphere of the Middle Ages is impossible without exceptional graphics. The developers have paid lavish attention to visual detail, specifically textures from specially processed photos of real grass, stones, wood, and so on. Even the characters are 3D models of a real man. He was photographed with a hundred cameras at the same time and a special program created the game character 3D model using these photos.

All animations are made using motion capture technology. Multiple champion in historical fencing Ivan Vasiliev helped to make all the strikes, blocks and movements animations.

Of course, you will need a high-end gaming PC to see the maximum quality of graphics, but you will be able to play The Flower of Knighthood even on a basic laptop with integrated graphics using various graphic options.

We've decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign because game investors think about maximization of their profit first. You can see a lot of games that become a “competition of purses”. We want to make a competition of skill. The main idea of our monetization system is that you can’t buy anything that will give advantage in fighting to the player. For us this project is our face.

We are making our game for players and we turn to you to help us realize this project.

To demonstrate to you that we deserve your confidence and in order to show you the first view of the game, we've made a demo, which we personally funded. Even a mere demo with state-of–the-art high quality graphics is very costly. Nevertheless, we have still tried to show you the very best quality that we can. It is also a part of the initial game play that will be included in the main game.

Backers’ part forum access and forum title – You will be able to post on forum in a special backers’ area, to take part in polls and votes.

Digital copy at release date – You will be able to download The Flower of Knighthood after the release date.

Closed beta access – You will be able to take part in closed beta tests and be among the first to see the world of The Flower of Knighthood

Digital art book – You will get Art book with artworks for the game in PDF.

Digital soundtrack – You will get game soundtrack in mp3.
Digital game manual – You will get the game manual with description of all game mechanics and controls in PDF.

Silk clothes for an in-game character – You will get a silk shirt and trousers for your game character that you can’t buy for in-game currency. And you will never lose it after death.

Digital copy (7 days early access) – You will be able to download The Flower of Knighthood in the 7 days before the official release and be among the first start playing The Flower of Knighthood.

Noble wear for in-game character – You will get noble wear for your in-game character including silk shirt and trousers that can’t be lost and noble outer garments that can be dropped after death.

Your name in credits – Your name will be published in the game credits with your title.

Signed poster – Concept art poster signed by the developers.

Digital craft technology book – You will get a craft technology book with detailed description of all in-game craft technologies.

30 days in the all-included tavern – You will get 30 days prepaid room were your character can sleep and keep his stuff. Moreover, in 30 days you don’t need to worry about finding food for your character.

Physical "collectors edition" copy (7 days early access) – You will get physical copy of The Flower of Knighthood in exclusive collection design.

Buckler – You will get handmade buckler (small round metal shield).

Special developer’s email with guaranteed answer in 24 hours – You will get a special developer’s email address where you can write your questions, comments and propositions and you can be sure that we will answer to you in 24 hours.

Start location in a capital safe zone – You will be able to start your game in the capital which is the safest place in the game.

Personal shield with coat of arms – You will get handmade wooden shield with coat of arms made by a professional heraldry specialist exclusive for you.

In-game horse – You will get an in-game horse for your character which will significantly expand your travel possibilities.

Deluxe physical craft technology book – You will get Craft technology book with detailed description of all in-game craft technologies in exclusive collection design.

Great Helm – You will get handmade great helm made by your measurements.

Bascinet – You will get handmade bascinet with hundskugel visor made by your measurements.

Chain mail – You will get handmade chain mail made by your measurements.

In-game statue in the city – We will build statue to you on the main square of one of the game's two regional cities. Statue design will be agreed with you. This reward is limited because there are only two cities (besides the capital) in The Flower of Knighthood.

In-game statue in the capital – We will build statue to you on the main square of the capital. Statue design will be agreed with you. This reward is limited because there are only one capital in The Flower of Knighthood.

Invitation to guided tour through the most interesting historical places in Great Britain with the developers – we will invite you to the weekend with us. We will visit some of the most interesting places of medieval England with a professional historian (travel expenses not included).

Risks and challenges

Game development is a complicated business. Developing MMOs is doubly complicated. And in this case we are making many unusual game mechanics. We know these risks and in order to minimize them we have paid special attention to the selection of staff and partners.

Our team has vast experience in game development (in one individual’s case 21 years) and project management. To demonstrate to you that we deserve your confidence and in order to show you the first view of the game, we've made a demo, which we have personally funded.

Openness is one of our main principles. During the whole development period you will be able to see what has already been done, what we are working on, the challenges we face and how we will solve them. For these purposes we have created a YouTube channel where we will publish weekly videos about the game development process.

Another important principle that helps us to minimize risk is a customer focus. We are making a game not for ourselves, but for you. We are not only interested in your opinion of the final game, but we also want to involve you in the game's development. Together we'll be able to create a game that will give us many hours of tremendous adventures.